Wizards are no match for the streaking Magic, who win eighth straight

The reigning rookie of the year wasn’t even on court when the crowd at Amway Center, for about the dozenth time Wednesday night, rose to its feet.

No, Paolo Banchero was parked on the bench when Jalen Suggs had his second monster steal of the night, then ever so casually tossed the ball up for teammate Cole Anthony to dunk, electrifying the crowd midway through the fourth quarter and draining whatever hope remained for a comeback from the visiting Washington Wizards.

The Wizards, who lost, 139-120, in Orlando, might have been the perfect trap game for the streaking Magic, who won their eighth straight to improve to 13-5. But the only person whose level dipped against the fledgling Wizards was Banchero, Orlando’s leading scorer, who had just six points.

No matter. The Magic didn’t work its way to second in the Eastern Conference on the back of just one man.

The Wizards (3-15) lacked the effort required — especially on the defensive end — and folded in the face of a tough, young team that has been one of the NBA’s early surprises.

Forward Franz Wagner dropped a season-high 31 points — one night after he dropped a season-high 30 against the Charlotte Hornets — and Suggs matched a career high with 22 points. Anthony added 25 points off the bench. The Magic shot 60.7 percent from the field and hit 17 of 27 from the three-point line.

Though they kept the Magic on its toes through late in the third quarter thanks to some solid shooting, the Wizards couldn’t seriously challenge Orlando with numbers like that and the physicality of Suggs.

“I give them credit, they play at a high level,” Coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “We tried to amp up the pressure a little bit, which opened up some threes, but they move the ball, they’re set and ready, we just have to get there with a little more urgency. ... I didn’t think we had a strong defensive presence. There were some stretches, but just not enough. Not enough consistency there. ... From the start, a little slow, picked it up early, and that late stretch at the end of the third and start of the fourth really caused a lot of damage.”

The Magic is most comfortable thundering downhill toward the lane where it can do damage under the basket. Washington let Orlando stay a step ahead too often, reflected in Orlando’s 66 points in the paint to the Wizards’ 52.

The Magic were bullies on the boards, too, and outrebounded the Wizards 44-29.

On the offensive end, Washington struggled to adjust to Orlando’s zone and was too overwhelmed physically to get a foothold in the game. The Wizards did come away with a few highlights: Kyle Kuzma led the team with 23 points, six assists and three rebounds, par for the course thus far.

Deni Avdija had perhaps his most impressive game of a strong individual season thus far with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, four rebounds, five assists and two steals. He left the game with 9:40 to play after a fall under the basket; he walked to the bench clutching his right arm near his elbow.

Unseld said Avdija was doing well enough after a few minutes that he was prepared to reenter the game. But by then, Suggs and Anthony had the crowd on its feet and things had gotten out of hand.

Jordan Poole added 19 points. including four three-pointers, for the Wizards, and Corey Kispert added 13 points off the bench. Washington gets another chance at the Magic in Orlando on Friday.